GOP senators to Liz Cheney: We like Mike Enzi

Republican senators are nearly united in their response to Liz Cheney’s challenge to their low-key Wyoming colleague: We like Mike.

That is Mike Enzi, the three-term senator from the Cowboy State who was otherwise on a glide path to reelection until the daughter of the former vice president recently announced she will challenge him in the 2014 GOP primary.

Text Size

-

+

reset

Sen. Mike Enzi: I'm not too old

Campaign preview and predictions

Despite the clout of the Cheney name in Washington, nearly the entire Senate establishment is backing Enzi — moderates, conservatives and the Senate GOP leadership team. And that unity could help Enzi surmount a very bloody fight next year.

Enzi’s Senate fan club describes the incumbent as a rock-ribbed conservative who’s left no daylight to his right for a challenge, a dogged worker behind closed doors and an effective legislator.

The support from Senate Republicans is just fine with Cheney, who indicated she doesn’t believe Capitol Hill opposition will hurt her aspirations.

“Wyoming voters know very well that the Washington establishment is the problem,” Cheney told POLITICO.

Enzi’s warm embrace from his GOP colleagues isn’t necessarily a surprise — but also wasn’t a lock. In past elections, former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — who now runs The Heritage Foundation and started the Senate Conservatives Fund, which hasn’t endorsed in the Wyoming race — pushed his conservative agenda by backing insurgent candidates in prominent open Senate primaries. DeMint avoided endorsing primary challengers over Senate incumbents.

Still, dozens of deep-pocketed Republicans will be a boon to the senator, who’s admitted in interviews that fundraising is not his strong suit and had $488,000 on hand as of the beginning of July, among the smallest war chests of any senator running for reelection. Cheney has yet to file any fundraising reports, though she is beginning to beef up her campaign staff, naming her leadership team last Thursday.

Enzi’s low-profile demeanor belies his effectiveness as former chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and high-ranking member of the Finance Committee, allies say. And though he is not an especially visible figure at the Capitol, Cheney’s challenge has certainly elevated his profile nationally, complementing his strong initial polling numbers in a contest sure to prove bruising.

Enzi said he appreciates his colleagues’ backing — but is most happy with his reputation back home.

“My favorite people supporting me are the people of Wyoming, and they’re the only ones that get to vote,” Enzi said. “There have been a couple of polls that have come out recently, and I’m grateful to the people of Wyoming that recognize the work that I’ve put in.”

Working in Enzi’s favor is the fact that former Vice President Dick Cheney’s Capitol Hill connections appear to have weakened after nearly five years out of office, according to interviews with more than a dozen Republican senators. Despite claiming long-standing ties and friendships with the former vice president, members said they now rarely speak with him. At this point, they don’t know of anything he has done to promote his daughter’s candidacy.

“I respect Dick Cheney, but Dick Cheney’s not running,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who served in the House alongside Cheney.

“I don’t know why in the world she’s doing this,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said of Liz Cheney. Hatch calls Dick Cheney one of his best friends, though they speak rarely now. Enzi is “honest and decent, hard-working; he’s got very important positions in the Senate. He’s highly respected. And these are all things that would cause anybody to say: ‘Why would anybody run against him?’”

Liz Cheney “knows how hard this potentially is,” said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina. “It may be she’s looking down the road, and this is in preparation for something.”

“[Dick Cheney] has a lot of friends, and I’m one of them,” said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a member of GOP leadership. “Who knows how this would work if it’s an open seat. But it’s not.”

“It’s no aspersions on Liz Cheney, and I like her too. And at some point, I think she’ll have an opportunity to serve,” said John Cornyn of Texas, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican and a former leader of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm. “This is about getting the majority in the Senate. And we have to support our friends and people who have done a good job.”